Never Alone

Never Alone
Author: Natan Sharansky
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Total Pages: 444
Release: 2020-09-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1541742435

A classic account of courage, integrity, and most of all, belonging In 1977, Natan Sharansky, a leading activist in the democratic dissident movement in the Soviet Union and the movement for free Jewish emigration, was arrested by the KGB. He spent nine years as a political prisoner, convicted of treason against the state. Every day, Sharansky fought for individual freedom in the face of overt tyranny, a struggle that would come to define the rest of his life. Never Alone reveals how Sharansky's years in prison, many spent in harsh solitary confinement, prepared him for a very public life after his release. As an Israeli politician and the head of the Jewish Agency, Sharansky brought extraordinary moral clarity and uncompromising, often uncomfortable, honesty. His story is suffused with reflections from his time as a political prisoner, from his seat at the table as history unfolded in Israel and the Middle East, and from his passionate efforts to unite the Jewish people. Written with frankness, affection, and humor, the book offers us profound insights from a man who embraced the essential human struggle: to find his own voice, his own faith, and the people to whom he could belong.

Unbroken Spirit

Unbroken Spirit
Author: Yosef Mendelevich
Publisher: Gefen Books
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2012
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9789652295637

At age twenty-two, Yosef Mendelevich participated in an attempt to hijack a plane to the West an act designed to raise awareness about the desperate plight of Soviet Jews. He was arrested before the plane ever left the ground and served twelve years in the Soviet gulag. This is the story of one man s resistance against tyranny, and his daily struggle to retain his Jewishness and his humanity in a system built to extinguish both. This is a testament to the strength of the human soul and an inspiration to us all.

Hidden Heroes

Hidden Heroes
Author: Pamela Braun Cohen
Publisher: Independently Published
Total Pages: 412
Release: 2021-09-27
Genre:
ISBN:

Spanning nearly three decades, Hidden Heroes gives an insider's view of the modern-day exodus of Soviet Jews from the Soviet Union, a period of Jewish history that has rarely been told and is in danger of being forgotten. This deeply personal narrative explores the grassroots Soviet Jewish emigration movement through the eyes of one of its indefatigable leaders, focusing on the actions of heroic refuseniks in the Soviet Union as well as courageous individuals in the West - described by Natan Sharansky as the "army of students and housewives" who waged the battle to free Soviet Jews. From Russia, Ukraine, and Lithuania to the distant republics of Central Asia, refuseniks come to life, discovering their identity, protesting on the streets, defending themselves in courtrooms, defying jailers in their prison cells, and struggling to survive in Siberian labor camps. This engrossing memoir tells the story of the resistance and moral courage of men and women inside the Soviet Union and of those in the West who relentlessly crusaded on their behalf. A very important memoir.... Pamela portrays many Jewish leaders...from different communities all over the United States, as well as Jewish refuseniks from different places all over the Soviet Union. It is this personal, intimate connection between these two groups that gave inspiration, encouragement, and strength to the people on both sides of the Iron Curtain and made our struggle...so powerful

The Case For Democracy

The Case For Democracy
Author: Natan Sharansky
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2009-02-23
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0786737069

Natan Sharansky believes that the truest expression of democracy is the ability to stand in the middle of a town square and express one's views without fear of imprisonment. He should know. A dissident in the USSR, Sharansky was jailed for nine years for challenging Soviet policies. During that time he reinforced his moral conviction that democracy is essential to both protecting human rights and maintaining global peace and security. Sharansky was catapulted onto the Israeli political stage in 1996. In the last eight years, he has served as a minister in four different Israeli cabinets, including a stint as Deputy Prime Minister, playing a key role in government decision making from the peace negotiations at Wye to the war against Palestinian terror. In his views, he has been as consistent as he has been stubborn: Tyranny, whether in the Soviet Union or the Middle East, must always be made to bow before democracy. Drawing on a lifetime of experience of democracy and its absence, Sharansky believes that only democracy can safeguard the well-being of societies. For Sharansky, when it comes to democracy, politics is not a matter of left and right, but right and wrong. This is a passionately argued book from a man who carries supreme moral authority to make the case he does here: that the spread of democracy everywhere is not only possible, but also essential to the survival of our civilization. His argument is sure to stir controversy on all sides; this is arguably the great issue of our times.

Racing Against History

Racing Against History
Author: Rick Richman
Publisher: Encounter Books
Total Pages: 227
Release: 2018-01-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1594039755

Racing Against History is the stunning story of three powerful personalities who sought in 1940 to turn the tide of history. David Ben-Gurion, Vladimir Jabotinsky, and Chaim Weizmann—the leaders of the left, right, and center of Zionism—undertook separate missions that year to America, then frozen in isolationism, to seek support for a Jewish army to fight Hitler. Their efforts were at once heroic and tragic. The book presents a portrait of three historic figures and the American Jewish community—at the beginning of the most consequential decade in modern Jewish history—and a cautionary tale about divisions within the Jewish community at a time of American isolationism. Based on previously unpublished materials, the book sheds new light on Zionism in America and the history of World War II, and it aims to stimulate discussion about the evolving relationship between Israel and American Jews, as the Jewish State approaches its 70th anniversary under the continuing threat of annihilation. A book for general readers, history buffs and academics alike, it includes 75 pages of End Notes that enable readers to pursue the stunning story in further depth.

The Voice of Silence

The Voice of Silence
Author: Ephraim (Alexander) Kholmyansky
Publisher: Academic Studies PRess
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2021-10-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 1644695936

While trying to revive Jewish national life by teaching Hebrew and Judaism in the Soviet Union, Ephraim Kholmyansky is arrested and threatened with long years of imprisonment and exile. In response, he declares a hunger strike. Supporters throughout the world rally to pressure the Soviet government to release him. A race against time begins... Ephraim Kholmyansky was born in Moscow in 1950. In 1979, he initiated an underground network for dissemination of Hebrew, Jewish tradition and Zionist values ​​throughout the peripheral cities of the USSR. He was arrested in 1984 when the KGB planted weapons in his apartment in order to stage a show trial and intimidate Jewish activists. Kholmyansky held a prolonged hunger strike while kept in prison. Thanks to his hunger strike and major international solidarity campaign, he received a relatively short sentence. This is an exceedingly rare case of victory over the KGB. This book documents this trying episode of his life and provides a unique perspective from inside the USSR.

When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone

When They Come for Us, We'll Be Gone
Author: Gal Beckerman
Publisher: HMH
Total Pages: 801
Release: 2010-09-23
Genre: History
ISBN: 0547504438

The “remarkable” story of the grass-roots movement that freed millions of Jews from the Soviet Union (The Plain Dealer). At the end of World War II, nearly three million Jews were trapped inside the USSR. They lived a paradox—unwanted by a repressive Stalinist state, yet forbidden to leave. When They Come for Us, We’ll Be Gone is the astonishing and inspiring story of their rescue. Journalist Gal Beckerman draws on newly released Soviet government documents as well as hundreds of oral interviews with refuseniks, activists, Zionist “hooligans,” and Congressional staffers. He shows not only how the movement led to a mass exodus in 1989, but also how it shaped the American Jewish community, giving it a renewed sense of spiritual purpose and teaching it to flex its political muscle. Beckerman also makes a convincing case that the effort put human rights at the center of American foreign policy for the very first time, helping to end the Cold War. This “wide-ranging and often moving” book introduces us to all the major players, from the flamboyant Meir Kahane, head of the paramilitary Jewish Defense League, to Soviet refusenik Natan Sharansky, who labored in a Siberian prison camp for over a decade, to Lynn Singer, the small, fiery Long Island housewife who went from organizing local rallies to strong-arming Soviet diplomats (The New Yorker). This “excellent” multigenerational saga, filled with suspense and packed with revelations, provides an essential missing piece of Cold War and Jewish history (The Washington Post).

Imprisoned with ISIS

Imprisoned with ISIS
Author: Petr Jasek
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2020-06-02
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1684510708

It Was Supposed to be a Four-Day Visit It turned into a 445-day imprisonment. And if God had not intervened, he would have been there for the rest of his life. In December 2015, Petr Jasek traveled to Khartoum, Sudan, to evaluate how The Voice of the Martyrs—a ministry he had served with since 2002—could help and encourage persecuted Sudanese Christians. Pleased with his meetings with local pastors and other Christians, Petr checked in for his flight home to the Czech Republic. But before he could board the plane, he was summoned for questioning by Sudanese security agents. They wanted to know more about his activities in the country—activities that, if disclosed, could endanger the Christians with whom he had met. Petr soon realized he was facing much more than a routine security screening. The guards took his computer, phone, and camera before quickly discovering his second passport. Later, his interrogators showed him photos of each meeting he had arranged during his four days in Sudan; he had been under surveillance from the moment he arrived. Taken into custody, Petr knew he would not be returning to his family anytime soon. Charged with espionage, waging war against the state, and undermining the constitution, he was locked up with ISIS fighters, convicted after a lengthy trial, and sentenced to life in prison. Now Petr shares the harrowing but inspiring story of how God sustained his strength and courage while giving him a new purpose during his ordeal—and then opened the prison doors and set him free.

Vienna Prelude

Vienna Prelude
Author: Bodie Thoene
Publisher: Zion Covenant
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2005-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9781414301075

Her own identity was safely disguised. But what about those she loved most. They would soon disappear with all the others unless ...

I Am Danger; I Am Prisoner

I Am Danger; I Am Prisoner
Author: Danger Geist
Publisher:
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2012-02-01
Genre:
ISBN: 9781937691011

What's in a name? Ask Danger. A naive 17 year-old boy thinks he understands why he enlisted in the Army, but his assumptions are challenged when he's called to serve in a volatile region of Afghanistan. Now a 22 year-old Sergeant stuck in a combat zone, Danger aims to find purpose behind his forced separation from his beloved girlfriend Joanna. Just when Danger thinks he's survived the war, he finds a bit of himself seems to have died in Afghanistan. I am Danger; I am Prisoner is the inspirational true story of a boy who wanted to do the right thing, only to grow up and find himself enslaved in a lie that both haunts and liberates him. Travel with Danger as he survives the decrepit streets of East St. Louis to the terrorist-infested villages of Afghanistan, not without creating relationships with the Muslim natives who teach him a few Christian lessons along the way as he discovers that his greatest danger may be himself.